


Electron Collisions

by TheDarknessFactor



Series: The Scientific Implications of Two Sisters [6]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Chapter One Spoilers, Class Story, F/M, First Impressions, Gen, Pre-Relationship, Tatooine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-28 06:09:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6317782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarknessFactor/pseuds/TheDarknessFactor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first impressions between a pirate and a Sith apprentice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Electron Collisions

**Author's Note:**

> Admittedly, when I first started playing through the SI class story, I originally planned to skip the romance.
> 
> ... Then I found out that Andronikos was voiced by Steve Blum. And suddenly all my plans flew out the window.
> 
> I love these two.

She tears into his life like a whirlwind, uprooting everything that binds him to this godforsaken dust ball. Just for that, he thinks he would follow her anywhere.

She strides into his crappy cantina room with a complete disregard for niceties, preferring instead to skip straight to business. He respects her bluntness and relates to her impatience. He's not even that surprised by the murderous monster that follows her around; she's pretty unusual herself.

S'kora quickly proves that she's whip-smart when she needs to be, in addition to being able to blast lightning from her fingertips. It seems to Andronikos that, most of the time, she simply chooses not to act like it - she's all bluster and confidence, even when a blaster is held to her face. But even so, he can see beneath the veneer, and recognizes a fellow survivor.

And then there's her general dislike of – well, everyone. He can appreciate that, even when it's directed at him.

It's not so much her, at first, as it is the opportunity she presents. Suddenly, putting a blaster bolt in Wilkes' head is looking much more possible. She seems intrigued, even approving, of his desire for revenge, her eyebrows raised in amusement while he eagerly anticipates watching the life leave that traitor’s eyes.

S'kora isn't exactly strong - she's basically a stick – but she moves faster than belief when fighting, appearing to be everywhere at once. Makes it kind of difficult not to accidentally shoot her, but she dismisses his concerns almost the instant he brings it up.

“You won't hit me,” she promises. There's this ‘as if you could’ tone to her voice that he almost takes as a challenge, but by now he knows better than to antagonize her.   
In short, they make a good team. He's got no complaints.

* * *

 

S’kora scoffs at the idea of showing anyone respect because she knows that, the moment people see her face, they won't bother respecting her. Or at least, if they do, it will be fake (at least until they witness her abilities – then it's all groveling and fear, and she hates that even more).

So when real respect is given to her – by a notorious pirate, no less – she has no idea how to respond.

She fumbles ever-so-slightly when speaking in an attempt to avoid her usual scathing platitudes, and can sense Khem becoming more alert behind her. She sends him a warning through the Force; she may be off-balance, but should he choose to strike, she will be more than ready for him.

She was prepared to have to coerce Revel in some way, but to her surprise he's completely amiable to her request, so long as he gets some personal satisfaction out of it. S'kora has little to no interest in vengeance, but she sees no reason not to indulge him in this instance.  
Revel even deigns to show concern for her. It's almost too much, but she manages to brush it aside with her usual disdain.

She quickly discovers that he's as harsh as the desert itself – though he may claim to hate Tatooine, he certainly seems at home here. His lack of patience for simpering Imperials matches her own, and he's not a bad shot. He earns her admiration in the way that he's ruthless without being unreasonable, and in the single-minded way he reaches his goals.

“Not gonna lie,” he says to her, early on. “In some ways, you’re exactly what I expected of a Sith. Other ways… not so much.”

Even so, that's how he ends up addressing her. Which is fine – she still has to suppress a flinch when Zash calls her ‘S'kora’ during one of their holocalls.

There aren't a whole lot of people in the galaxy that S'kora likes, but she thinks she might like him.

* * *

 

Against all odds, S'kora finds Tatooine beautiful.

The desert seems to sing to her in the night, and she can sense just how ancient this place is. It is a planet that demands respect, but rarely receives it. She thinks she could stand to remain here a little bit longer.

Getting the sand out of her clothes will be a nuisance, though.

The dark side is strong here, and she roots herself in it while she meditates. It is fortunate that she finds herself in the company of two other insomniacs – neither Khem nor Andronikos have any comment to make on her nighttime ritual. Her sleep patterns have been steadily improving since Dromund Kaas, but they’re hardly up to par.

The three of them are settled around a dim campfire, out in the Dune Sea. S'kora can sense that the artifact is near, but neither she nor Andronikos are all that eager to continue the search in the night hours. The daytime heat may be grueling, but instinct tells S'kora that being on the move here at night is a risk.

Thinking that, perhaps, she is relaxed enough for sleep, S'kora opens her eyes and unfolds from her meditative posture. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Andronikos do a double take, and realizes that he must have been dozing off.

“No need to get up on my account,” she tells him, using her supply pack as a pillow and lying back.

He shakes his head. “Sorry. It's stupid.”

S'kora thinks she understands. “Rest assured that I have no intention of stabbing you in the back.”

“Nothing personal, Sith.” He doesn't show any inclination towards lying down. “Old habits die hard.”

Well, she can hardly begrudge him.

The stars have all but flooded the sky, but entrancing as they are to look at, S'kora forces her eyes closed. Even with her cloak thrown over her, however, the desert chill has a way of permeating her body, creeping under her skin. With a frustrated sigh, she reopens her eyes.

Andronikos has moved closer to the fire, staring into it with a pensive look on his face. S'kora moves to sit across from him, feeling her annoyance at her inability to sleep bubbling within her.

“So it's like that, huh?” he asks her.

“I suppose so.”

He laughs. “Good to know that the Sith aren't immune to sleeplessness. Reminds me that you’re still human.”

S’kora lifts one corner of her mouth in amusement. “All Imperial citizens have Sith blood in them, to some degree.”

“…okay.”

S'kora gets the sense that she's on something of a tipping point here, even though there shouldn't be anything important about conversing in the middle of the desert during the nighttime hours. She thinks it might have more to do with the things they haven't talked about – like her scars, or his past with Casey, or the fact that she has a Dashade following her around. Or her hair color, or…

“Just, uh…” Andronikos hesitates. S'kora waits. “…your eyes are glowing.”

S’kora sits and digests this information, wondering how long that's been the case. Khem probably wouldn't have bothered to mention it, and it's hard for her to tell the difference between her natural eye color and the venomous yellow that Sith tend to develop. Now, in the darkness, there's actually someone who notices, and who would let her know.

“Wonder if you can use them as a flashlight,” he says, completely deadpan.

S'kora snorts.

“I mean, think about it. It’d be pretty damn useful, plus –“

“I'm not sure that that's how it works.”

“What kind of Sith are you?”

“I think it would be rather contradictory to our use of the Dark Side if we were able to use our eyes as a flashlight.”

He grins. “Point taken.”

Neither of them gets any sleep that night, but for once, S'kora doesn't see that as a bad thing.

* * *

 

It isn't often that a non-Force sensitive’s anger is great enough that S'kora can pick up on it without some effort, but rage is boiling off of Andronikos in waves.

She's already gathered the artifact and tossed it into her pack, and she's standing back while Andronikos comes to terms with the fact that his vengeance has been stolen from him. Her arms are folded across her chest and she's casting out with her senses, making sure that no scavengers are attracted by the dark presence of the artifact.

Andronikos is staring at the corpses, formerly his men. Granted, he hasn't pulled out his blaster and started firing it at them – barely.

S'kora's patience is running out. “We’re done here,” she announces to Khem, turning to leave. Khem moves to follow.

She hasn't moved more than a few steps before Andronikos speaks.

“You're just gonna leave?”

She pauses, pivoting halfway to face him. “I've accomplished what I came here to do. Your traitors are dead. There's little point in staying."

He growls, eyes boring into hers. “I should've been able to kill them myself.”

“That's not my problem,” she snaps. “You do realize, of course, that you’re only doing them a favor by dwelling on this? You’re the one giving them power over you.”

Andronikos looks incensed for a moment, but then he visibly deflates.

“Yeah, guess you’re right.”

He journeys with them back to Mos Ila, where S'kora fully expects to drop him off at the cantina, never to see him again (she ignores the slight pang she feels at that). She refuses to feel any kind of hope when he requests to go with them to the spaceport instead, figuring that he'll want to get offworld now that he's had his revenge.

They've just entered the spaceport when he jerks his head towards a small cantina and says, “Mind if we talk?”

They decline to order anything, and the nasty look that the bartender shoots at them is met by a glare of S'kora's own. He stays as far from their table as the bar allows, after that.

“I noticed you don't seem to have much of a crew,” he begins. “Besides your ancient monster assassin.”

“I have a cleaning droid.”

“Guess you Sith really do get all the perks.” He grins ruefully. “Anyway, I wanted to ask – I don't really have much going on, now that I've taken care of Wilkes, and you seem to have some… interesting stuff happening.”

S'kora knows where he's going with this (and is pleased), but she raises an eyebrow and says, “Stuff?”

“Hunting down ancient artifacts, whatever. Sounds pretty boring when you just say it, but after what I saw on Tatooine…”. He shrugs. “Mind if I tag along? You won't regret having me as a pilot, I can promise you that.”

It feels like the first truth she's spoken since becoming Sith. “I’d be thrilled, Andronikos.”

* * *

 

The ship is… stark, if he had to describe it. It's not that surprising -S'kora strikes him as the type to despise opulence. Still, the dark colors combined with the lack of decoration exude loneliness and isolation – not that he's about to mention that to S'kora.

He's there to witness her holocall with Zash. Like S'kora, she seems to be a halfway-decent Sith, but something about her rubs him the wrong way all the same. She gets points for not caring that he's a pirate – in fact, she seems rather impressed with S'kora's choice of crew member, giving him a nod when S’kora points him out.

“I must, of course, thank you for your aid in finding the artifact,” she tells him.

“It was a mutually beneficial transaction,” he replies.

S’kora gives him a quick tour of her ship after that, seeming more out-of-place in her own space than she did on Tatooine. The crew's quarters are decent (though he might take the couch if Khem turns out to be a permanent resident in them), and the cockpit makes his hands itch to get at the controls, but he resolves to wait until she finishes the tour first.

That turns out to not be necessary; he tears his eyes away from the joystick to see her amused look. “Would you like to pilot us to our next stop?”

Is that even a question? “Hell yeah,” he answers. “Where are we headed?”

“Alderaan.”

It's been too long since he's had a ship to pilot, and his takeoff is slightly rusty, but he finds his rhythm soon enough, making the jump to hyperspace with ease. S'kora stands over his shoulder in silence, and he appreciates her company.

He's made a good choice, asking her to bring him along. Maybe, for once in his life, he won't have any regrets.

**Author's Note:**

> Not many notes this time.
> 
> 1\. S'kora is bisexual. That's it. That's the note.
> 
> 2\. I considered lowering Andronikos' age from his (supposedly) canonical one, but ultimately decided against it. So yeah, there's a rather large age gap here. It won't really be mentioned that much (neither of them see it as a problem), but I thought I should warn you now.
> 
> 3\. I know that these probably weren't exactly the way some of these scenes went in the game, but I like to take some liberties with canon anyway.
> 
> Feel free to stop by my [Tumblr](http://darknessfactor.tumblr.com/ask) if you have any questions!


End file.
